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United States Patent |
6,032,991
|
Yeh
|
March 7, 2000
|
Electrically operable tubular lock
Abstract
An electrically operable tubular lock assembly includes a support to be
mounted on an inner side of a door, a hollow cylinder having an outer end
mounted on the support and an inner end extending inwardly from the
support, a spindle extending axially inside the hollow cylinder and
connected to the hollow cylinder for simultaneous rotation therewith, a
rotary handle body connected to the inner end of the hollow cylinder, a
driving wheel mounted on the support around the hollow cylinder and having
a first gear part adjacent to the support and a second gear part adjacent
to the handle body, an electric motor mounted on the support adjacent to
and externally of the driving wheel, a first transmission mechanism
mounted on the support and connected to the first gear part and the motor,
and a second transmission mechanism mounted inside the handle body and
connected to the second gear part and the spindle.
Inventors:
|
Yeh; Tsun-Tsai (No. 10, Chien-Hwa St., Hsinchu City, TW)
|
Appl. No.:
|
300679 |
Filed:
|
April 27, 1999 |
Current U.S. Class: |
292/336.3; 70/279.1; 74/625; 292/144 |
Intern'l Class: |
E05B 059/00 |
Field of Search: |
70/280,277,279,224
292/336.3,144,201,DIG. 25
74/625
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
4438962 | Mar., 1984 | Soloviff | 292/144.
|
5040391 | Aug., 1991 | Lin | 70/277.
|
5544507 | Aug., 1996 | Lin | 70/107.
|
5626039 | May., 1997 | Solari | 70/279.
|
5782118 | Jul., 1998 | Chamberlain | 70/279.
|
5837365 | Jan., 1999 | Armstrong | 70/279.
|
Primary Examiner: Boucher; Darnell M.
Assistant Examiner: Estremsky; Gary
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Harness, Dickey & Pierce, P.L.C.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A tubular lock assembly for actuating a door latch mechanism,
comprising:
a support adapted to be mounted on on an inner side of a door;
a hollow cylinder having an outer end mounted on said support and an inner
end extending inwardly from said support;
a spindle extending axially inside said hollow cylinder and connected to
said hollow cylinder for simultaneous rotation therewith, said spindle
being adapted to be connected to the latch mechanism;
a rotary handle body connected to said inner end of said hollow cylinder;
a driving wheel mounted on said support around said hollow cylinder and
having a first gear part adjacent to said support and a second gear part
adjacent to said handle body;
an electric motor mounted on said support adjacent to and externally of
said driving wheel;
a first transmission mechanism mounted on said support and connected to
said first gear part and said motor; and
a second transmission mechanism mounted inside said handle body and
connected to said second gear part and said spindle.
2. The tubular lock assembly as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a
control unit to control said motor so as to limit said driving wheel to
rotate within a limited angle.
3. The tubular lock assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said driving
wheel is hollow and has a varying cross-section, said first gear part is
an external gear part, and said second gear part is an internal gear part,
said external gear part having a cross-section greater than that of said
internal gear part.
4. The tubular lock assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein said second
transmission mechanism includes a transmission shaft mounted inside said
handle body adjacent to said spindle and extending into said internal gear
part axially of said spindle, and transmission gears mounted on said
transmission shaft and driven by said internal gear part.
5. The tubular lock assembly as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a
knob body sleeved around said spindle inside said handle body, said knob
body having a periphery formed with axially extending gear teeth and being
rotatable via said transmission gears.
6. The tubular lock assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein said knob body
has a manually operable knob cap connected thereto and projecting from
said handle body to the inner side of the door.
7. The tubular lock assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein said first
transmission mechanism includes transmission gears which are connected to
said motor and said external gear part.
8. The tubular lock assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein said control
unit includes a hollow limit plate disposed around said driving wheel for
simultaneous rotation therewith and having tongues extending adjacent to
said external gear part, and a micro-switch mounted on said base plate
adjacent to said external gear part and electrically connected to said
motor, said micro-switch being actuated by said tongues to control said
motor.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a door lock, more particularly to a tubular lock
that incorporates an electrically operated driving wheel to control the
latching and unlatching operations of the tubular lock.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various forms of tubular locks have existed in the art. FIG. 1 shows a
typical tubular lock 10 which comprises an outer handle body 11 adapted to
be mounted on the outer side of a door, and an inner handle body 12
adapted to be mounted on the inner side of the door. The outer and inner
handle bodies 11 and 12 are interconnected by a spindle 13 which passes
through a spindle hole of a latch mechanism (not shown) and which
incorporates a mandrel 131 therein. The mandrel 131 is connected to a knob
body 121 disposed inside the inner handle body 12. The spindle 13 also
passes through a spindle hole 123 of a rotatable hollow cylinder 122. When
the knob body 121 is turned manually, the mandrel 131 will move a locking
element (not shown) disposed in the outer handle body 11 so that the
hollow cylinder 122 and the spindle 13 are locked against rotation. In
this situation, the tubular lock 10 is in a locked position. If the
mandrel 131 is turned in a reversed direction, the locking element is
moved to a releasing position, thereby releasing the cylinder 122 and the
spindle 13 and unlocking the tubular lock 10. On the other hand, when the
handle body 12 is rotated, the cylinder 122 and the spindle 13 can be
turned to actuate the latch mechanism so that the door can be latched or
unlatched. As mentioned hereinabove, conventional tubular locks generally
comprise a mandrel and a spindle which interconnect inner and outer handle
bodies or levers and which are operable only through a manual operation.
Improvements are therefore desirable so as to render conventional tubular
locks operable via electric means.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a tubular lock which can
be operated either manually or electrically.
According to the present invention, a tubular lock assembly for actuating a
latch mechanism, comprises a support adapted to be mounted on an inner
side of a door, a hollow cylinder having an outer end mounted on the
support and an inner end extending inwardly from the support, a spindle
extending axially inside the hollow cylinder and connected to the hollow
cylinder for simultaneous rotation, the spindle being adapted to be
connected to the latch mechanism, a rotary handle body connected to the
inner end of the hollow cylinder, a driving wheel mounted on the support
around the hollow cylinder and having a first gear part adjacent to the
support and a second gear part adjacent to the handle body, an electric
motor mounted on the support adjacent to and externally of the driving
wheel, a first transmission mechanism mounted on the support and connected
to the first gear part and the motor, and a second transmission mechanism
mounted inside the handle body and connected to the second gear part and
the spindle. The tubular lock assembly further includes a control unit to
control the motor so as to limit the driving wheel to rotate within a
limited angle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent
in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with
reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
FIG. 1 shows a conventional tubular lock;
FIG. 2 sectional side view of a first preferred embodiment of a tubular
lock according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a sectional top view of the first embodiment;
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the first embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the first embodiment;
FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the first embodiment;
FIG. 7 shows an exploded view of a second preferred embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of the second embodiment; and
FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view of the second embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, a tubular lock embodying the present
invention is designated by numeral 20 and includes a support formed by a
cover 231 and a base 232 which are coupled together via interlocking means
(not shown). A positioning plate 230 is fixed to the base 231 opposite to
the cover 231. A hollow cylinder 221 is mounted rotatably on the base 232
and extends into a hole 2320 of a cup portion 2321 of the base 232. An
inner end of the hollow cylinder 221, which will be located at an inner
side of the door, is connected to a rotary handle body 22 which
incorporates a turning knob body 222. The outer end of the cylinder 221
has a rectangular spindle hole 224 for passage of a rotary spindle 15
which is adapted to connect with a latch mechanism (not shown) that will
be mounted inside a door. In this embodiment, the spindle 15 has a
rectangular cross-section to engage the spindle hole 224 of the cylinder
221 so that the spindle 15 can be turned via rotation of the rotary handle
22 and the cylinder 221 SO as to latch or unlatch the door in a
conventional way.
A torsion spring 211 and a restraining plate 230 are sleeved around the
outer end of the hollow cylinder 221 between the base plate 232 and the
positioning plate 230. As in the conventional tubular lock, the torsion
spring 22 cooperates with the restraining plate 230 and controls the
rotation of the hollow cylinder 221 SO that, after the cylinder 221 is
turned in one direction, it can be returned to its original position by
the action of the torsion spring 211.
The spindle 15, which is shown partially in FIGS. 2 and 3, will extend
towards the outer side of the door from a hole 2301 of the positioning
plate 230 SO as to connect with the latch mechanism and an outer handle
body (not shown) which will be mounted on the outer side of the door.
There will be a locking element (not shown) associated with the outer
handle body for locking the spindle 15 against rotation. The spindle 15
has a mandrel 14 which extends into the handle body 22 and is inserted
fittingly in the knob body 222. The knob body 222 is in the form of a
sleeve body and is provided with a plurality of axially extending gear
teeth 223. A knob cap 222a is connected to the knob body 222 and projects
outward from the handle body 22. When the mandrel 14 is turned via the
knob body 222, the spindle 15 can be released from the aforesaid locking
element and permitted to operate the latch mechanism in a conventional
way.
A driving wheel 24 is disposed around the cylinder 221 and has a rim 243
mounted on a cup portion 2321 of the base plate 232. The driving wheel 24
has a varying cross-section. An internal gear part 241 is formed at one
end of the driving wheel 24 adjacent to the handle body 22, and an
external gear part 242 is formed at the other end of the driving wheel 24.
The cross-section of the external gear part 242 is greater than that of
the internal gear part 241. A motor 250 is mounted on the base plate 232
to operate the driving wheel 24 via a first transmission mechanism. In
this embodiment, the first transmission mechanism includes a bevel gear
252 mounted on an output shaft 251 of the motor 250, and a gear 253
mounted on the base plate 232 adjacent to the bevel gear 252 and including
a bevel gear part 2531 and a spur gear part 2532. The bevel gear part 2531
engages the bevel gear 252, while the spur gear part 2532 engages the
external gear part 242 of the driving wheel 24 so as to drive the driving
wheel 24.
The internal gear part 241 of the driving wheel 24 is connected to the knob
body 222 via a second transmission mechanism 26 so as to rotate the knob
body 222. In this embodiment, the second transmission mechanism 26 is
mounted inside the handle body 22 and includes a transmission shaft 261, a
pair of transmission gears 262 mounted on the transmission shaft 261 in an
axially spaced apart position, and another transmission gear 263. One of
the transmission gears 262 extends into and engages the internal gear part
241. The other transmission gear 262 engages the transmission gear 263
which in turn engages the gear teeth 223 of the knob body 222. Via the
second transmission mechanism 26, the motion of the driving wheel 24 can
be transmitted to the knob body 222 and the mandrel 14 which will then
move the spindle 15 to latch or unlatch the door. As such, the door can be
latched or unlatched by energizing the motor 250.
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 in combination with FIG. 4, a control unit for
controlling and limiting the rotation of the driving wheel 24 includes a
hollow limit plate 27 disposed around and connected to the driving wheel
24 for simultaneous rotation therewith, and a pair of micro-switches 29.
The micro-switches 29 are mounted on the base plate 232 on two sides of
the motor 250. The limit plate 27 is provided with axially projecting
tongues 272 adjacent to the external gear part 241, and the tongues 272
function to contact and actuate the micro-switches 29. When the motor 250
is energized, the driving wheel 24 is rotated, and one of the tongues 272
will move to and then contact one of the micro-switches 29, thereby
de-energizing the motor 250 and limiting the driving wheel 24 to rotate
within a limited angle. The control unit further includes a pair of
electric connectors 28 which are connected electrically to the
micro-switches 29, respectively. The electric connectors 28 are also
mounted on the base plate 232 and can be connected to an external control
circuit (not shown), such as a coded control circuit, for remote control
of the cylinder lock 20 of the present invention.
A second preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 7
and 8, wherein elements similar to those illustrated in the previous
embodiment are represented by like numerals. The second embodiment differs
from the previous embodiment only in that a lever handle 30 is used in the
second embodiment in place of the handle body 22 of the previous
embodiment.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is
considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood
that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is
intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and
scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such
modifications and equivalent arrangements.
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